Silovs tries two tracks

HAMAR, Norway – Haralds Silovs had better take a close look at a Vancouver city map on the first full day of the Olympics.

It’s not every day a speedskater has to fit in one race on the big Olympic oval in the afternoon, then rush across town for three short-track races in the evening.

In fact, it’s never been done before.

Silovs hopes there’s not too much traffic on his way from suburban Richmond, south of the city, to the Pacific Coliseum in east Vancouver – and that he can find a car where he can stretch his weary legs for the 12 miles of stop-and-start driving Feb. 13.

“It is a little crazy,” Silovs acknowledged.

“Who knows if I ever will have that chance again in my life,” he added, because even at 23, the next Olympics seems far, far away.

To the uninitiated, short- and long-track skating can appear pretty much the same – men on skates in tight suits zipping around the ice.

Still, there is a lot more in common between a daredevil downhill skier and a technical slalom specialist than between long- and short-track skaters. In skiing after all, there’s even a combined gold medal for competing in downhill and slalom events, and many skiers take part in both on the Olympic slopes.

No such thing in skating, where few have even dreamed of pulling off a double. Four years ago, U.S. star Shani Davis attempted to make both U.S. skating teams, but came up short in short track. He went on to win a gold and a silver on the big oval.

Silovs has found that qualifying for both Latvian teams is a tad easier.

On his busy Saturday, though, just taking part in both events will be much more realistic than winning both – or even one. Yet, as 2008 European short track champion, don’t count him out for a medal at Pacific Coliseum.

“If I do a perfect race, there is a chance I can score a medal,” he said.

Which begs the question, why add the burden of the 5,000-meter event on the long track?

Because on the morning of Feb. 13, he will still be an Olympic rookie on any kind of oval.

“It is my first Olympics. It is going to be the first race of my life. Sometimes you need that one race to actually to warm you up,” Silovs said. “After the race you can say, ‘OK, now I am ready. Now I know how to race.’ Pretty often athletes screw up their first race because of this. In that case it could help me to get mentally stronger, pumped up and more ready to race.”

He won’t hold back or embarrass himself in the 5,000, which is about 6 1/2 minutes of thigh-searing effort, so one would assume Silovs would be drained after his opening race.

“In long track you go always all out, so every race you are going to do, you are going to die,” he said. “That is for sure.”

But recuperation doesn’t take long. Years of endurance training takes care of that.

“I am used to racing, recovering, racing, recovering,” he said.

On the short track, it won’t make that much of a difference anyway. Long track is about powerful strides and big lungs, while the short track requires ice-hugging skills to negotiate tight corners and smart tactics to determine when to move up in the pack.

After his rush across town and change of gear, suit and skates, Silovs is counting on some help from his short track friends. There are two qualifying sessions for the 1,500 final, and he is hoping on an easy passage at least into the second round.

“I consider the first round to be a little easier than semis and final, which will allow me to adjust a little more,” he said.

Of course, the last thing he needs to count on in this sport is predictability. Brawn, muscle and plain luck can be more important than all the race fitness one can muster.

“I will be there to fight,” Silovs said. “I am not backing off.”